Navigating the Waters of Interfaith Activity -- Sightings
One of the issues that make interfaith conversation difficult is the possibility of proselytism or evangelism taking place in the midst of the conversation. Some groups ban such things, but is that a good idea? Are such bans an impediment, keeping out some of the possible participants. Some who would enter the conversation are of the opinion that all religions are the same, different perspectives on the divine. But others believe that their religion is either superior to others or that in the end their understanding describes reality as it will be. So, is interfaith activity something that is limited to liberal groups, or is this something that conservative groups can enter into. Added to this issue is the question of overt versus subtle forms of evangelism. What should we make of that?
Today's edition of Sightings takes up this question and asks provocative questions that we who engage in such activity need to consider.
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Sightings 12/11/08
Today's edition of Sightings takes up this question and asks provocative questions that we who engage in such activity need to consider.
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Sightings 12/11/08
Navigating the Waters of Interfaith Activity
-- Matthew Weiner and Matthew Dunbar
-- Matthew Weiner and Matthew Dunbar
When liberal religious groups work together, it is assured that they agree on one thing: proselytizing is against the rules. The history of Christian evangelism has led to extreme sensitivity on this issue, especially amongst Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus. A Buddhist monk, who is also a parliamentarian in the Sri Lankan government, even introduced a bill to make proselytizing illegal.
Liberal religious communities assume that in order to engage in honest dialogue, one cannot think one's faith is superior, let alone try to convince the other participants that one's religion is the only true faith. But there are problems with this assumption. Moreover, far more theologically conservative religious communities also work across religious lines these days. Many of them believe their faith to be superior to the faiths that they encounter. How do these participants reconcile the conflicting objectives of working together honestly and preaching their faith? And how do liberal religious leaders navigate such difficult waters? If interfaith activities seek to move beyond the usual liberal context, these are essential questions to pursue.
Imam Backi is an African American Imam who has been participating in interfaith programs for years. Recently, at a social justice retreat, he said that it was a requirement of Islam to do dawa, which literally translates as an "invitation to Islam." Many in the room were offended, but he went on to explain that after he practiced dawa, he would expect to work with others on shared terms. Another Muslim leader, Sheikh Drammeh, disagreed with Backi. While he too wished that people would convert to Islam, he did not see an interfaith retreat as the place for it. This response was not greeted with much more enthusiasm from participants. Drammeh said, in response to a grumbling crowd, "Yes, I am a bit prejudiced in favor of my faith. And you should be for yours."
Vivian Donaldson is a Pentecostal minister in Brooklyn whose church is in an all-Jewish neighborhood. Donaldson also joins the retreats that Backi and Drammeh attend. And while she does not openly proselytize in the way Backi does, when speaking to the group she clearly testifies about the power of Jesus in her life. Yet Donaldson also feels a strong affiliation with her surrounding Jewish community. She sees them as a vital link to her Christian faith and enjoys learning about Judaism. She incorporates some Jewish prayers into her daily life. And unlike many evangelicals, she does not openly seek their conversion. In fact, she would even deny that this is any goal of hers. Yet Donaldson believes that at the end of time, Jews will be reconciled with Jesus.
Proselytization is not always blatant or conscious, and rules that ban it or even shared assumptions that frown on it do not prevent its more subtle forms. Buddhists are fond of saying that meditation is not a religious practice. But it leads to Nirvana – Buddhist salvation. Is having a Buddhist lead a meditation at an interfaith retreat proselytizing? What did the Buddha mean when he called for disciples to "spread the teachings"? Buddhism, often seen as a more historically tolerant faith, is nevertheless one of the world's most successful missionizing faiths. But it also illustrates how ambiguous the category of "evangelizing" can be.
Perhaps the most serious problem with anti-proselytizing rules is the assumption that no real work can be done without them. One Hasidic Rabbi who was to attend a retreat was warned that while the program was about social issues of shared concern, and that this was why everyone was there, there were still a few leaders who may say something that he would find distasteful. The rabbi pursed his lips and dismissed the fear with a wave of his hand. "What will they do? They may try to convert me? Then they will fail. Then? Then we will get down to business."
Matthew Weiner is the Program Director at the Interfaith Center of New York. Matthew Dunbar is the Director of Advocacy and Organizing for NY Faith & Justice.
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Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Liberal religious communities assume that in order to engage in honest dialogue, one cannot think one's faith is superior, let alone try to convince the other participants that one's religion is the only true faith. But there are problems with this assumption. Moreover, far more theologically conservative religious communities also work across religious lines these days. Many of them believe their faith to be superior to the faiths that they encounter. How do these participants reconcile the conflicting objectives of working together honestly and preaching their faith? And how do liberal religious leaders navigate such difficult waters? If interfaith activities seek to move beyond the usual liberal context, these are essential questions to pursue.
Imam Backi is an African American Imam who has been participating in interfaith programs for years. Recently, at a social justice retreat, he said that it was a requirement of Islam to do dawa, which literally translates as an "invitation to Islam." Many in the room were offended, but he went on to explain that after he practiced dawa, he would expect to work with others on shared terms. Another Muslim leader, Sheikh Drammeh, disagreed with Backi. While he too wished that people would convert to Islam, he did not see an interfaith retreat as the place for it. This response was not greeted with much more enthusiasm from participants. Drammeh said, in response to a grumbling crowd, "Yes, I am a bit prejudiced in favor of my faith. And you should be for yours."
Vivian Donaldson is a Pentecostal minister in Brooklyn whose church is in an all-Jewish neighborhood. Donaldson also joins the retreats that Backi and Drammeh attend. And while she does not openly proselytize in the way Backi does, when speaking to the group she clearly testifies about the power of Jesus in her life. Yet Donaldson also feels a strong affiliation with her surrounding Jewish community. She sees them as a vital link to her Christian faith and enjoys learning about Judaism. She incorporates some Jewish prayers into her daily life. And unlike many evangelicals, she does not openly seek their conversion. In fact, she would even deny that this is any goal of hers. Yet Donaldson believes that at the end of time, Jews will be reconciled with Jesus.
Proselytization is not always blatant or conscious, and rules that ban it or even shared assumptions that frown on it do not prevent its more subtle forms. Buddhists are fond of saying that meditation is not a religious practice. But it leads to Nirvana – Buddhist salvation. Is having a Buddhist lead a meditation at an interfaith retreat proselytizing? What did the Buddha mean when he called for disciples to "spread the teachings"? Buddhism, often seen as a more historically tolerant faith, is nevertheless one of the world's most successful missionizing faiths. But it also illustrates how ambiguous the category of "evangelizing" can be.
Perhaps the most serious problem with anti-proselytizing rules is the assumption that no real work can be done without them. One Hasidic Rabbi who was to attend a retreat was warned that while the program was about social issues of shared concern, and that this was why everyone was there, there were still a few leaders who may say something that he would find distasteful. The rabbi pursed his lips and dismissed the fear with a wave of his hand. "What will they do? They may try to convert me? Then they will fail. Then? Then we will get down to business."
Matthew Weiner is the Program Director at the Interfaith Center of New York. Matthew Dunbar is the Director of Advocacy and Organizing for NY Faith & Justice.
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"The devil that Dostoevsky portrays… is no Archfiend, no evil genius. He is a pathetic and unprepossessing devil, a faded gentleman with a nose cold, wearing out-of-date, threadbare clothes. This is an Augustinian devil, evil by dint of the emptying out of being, evil by the privation of good in a subject." This month on the Marty Center's Religion and Culture Web Forum, Stephen Meredith, professor of pathology and biochemistry and molecular biology, offers a reading of the role of the devil (as character) and theodicy (as theme) in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Dr. Meredith's examination not only asks theological questions about the content of the work of literature, but, indeed, about the function such a text might play in the distinctly human struggle to make rational sense of our suffering. Formal responses will be posted December 8, 15, and 22 by Robert Bird (University of Chicago), Ralph Wood (Baylor University), and Susan McReynolds Oddo (Northwestern University).
http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/webforum/index.shtml
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Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
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